Course Description and Objectives

This course is designed to address two aspects of philosophical/theoretical reflection on modern Jewish existence: 

(1) questions of identity, belonging, and tradition:  What constitutes "being Jewish," and what is understood by Judaism and ("the") Jewish tradition?  What is it to "have" a tradition; and how are traditions appropriated, transformed, altered, and invented, and to what effect? 

(2) the question of religion and ethics:  We will read some modern treatments of the question of whether Judaism yields a moral philosophy, and what relation such a philosophy has to Jewish religion, or Jewish experience (Buber, Cohen, Levinas, Fackenheim). 

A core objective of this class is to develop skills of close reading, textual analysis, and strong writing.  The Text Preparation and paper assignments are designed for you to use and improve those skills.  The course is structured in a way that encourages students to approach their education as a process that both requires and rewards active engagement.  Because the course presupposes that successful education requires the active, informed participation of students, the course requires participants to complete assigned readings prior to the course meeting at which they will be discussed, to attend all sessions, and to participate actively in class meetings.  Preparation for, attendance at, and participation in class meetings are required and will count toward the final grade.

Course Readings

You can generally obtain these in a number of ways - see details for each title on the syllabus.

• Books for this course have been ordered with Titles (visit the "Tank": TSH B203).  In addition to the books that contain course readings, I am asking you to purchase a writing reference book: Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual, 4th ed. (2004)
• All the readings are also on reserve at Mills Library. Look up the Mills Library reserve lists under "Hollander" in MORRIS.   
• A coursepack containing some of the readings is available from Titles.  However, since it is much cheaper to make personal copies of readings as needed from the books on reserve than to buy the coursepack (whose price includes a hefty copyright fee that the bookstore is obliged to pay), I encourage you to do the former.  Only a limited number of coursepacks has been ordered in advance; if they are no longer in stock, you can order one on a "raincheck" basis, which will be ready in 2 days' time - please plan ahead to ensure you can prepare the texts in time for our in-class work on them.

At times you may be asked to consult or make your own copy from a book on reserve.

You must have your own copy of all the texts to be discussed--with the same pagination as the edition selected for the class--whether in book or xeroxed form, so that you can mark them as you read and be prepared to refer to specific passages in class and tutorial, and when you write the exams.

Course Requirements

• Text Preparations on the reading will be assigned every 1-3 weeks and should be handed in at the end of the class session on the day they are due (no late submissions accepted). Their purpose is (1) to encourage you to read carefully and reflect on issues that come up in the reading, so that you are in a position to participate knowledgeably and actively in class and tutorial; and (2) to give you feedback on your writing and on working with primary texts, in preparation for writing the papers for this class.  Individual assignments are ungraded. Your overall grade will be based primarily on whether you completed all of them in a way that reflects attentive and thoughtful reading.  Please keep all the assignments that are returned to you for your reference and in case I ask to see them again later in the term. 

  In preparing these and other written assignments, you are encouraged to use the resources of the Writing Clinic at the Center for Student Development, and to consult Diana Harvey, A Pocket Style Manual.

• Attendance is mandatory, since participating in in-class work is crucial to successful completion of this course.  If you need to be absent from a class session, please notify me, preferably by e-mail, and be sure to ask a classmate to fill you in on what you missed.

• Participation includes: reading the material carefully ahead of time and raising points and questions about it in class, taking part in in-class group assignments, communicating with me outside of class, etc. 

• 1-2-page proposal (plus bibliography) for "ReJewvenation" project; First Paper, based on "ReJewvenation" project; Second Paper - topics TBA.  

Grades are based on Text Preparations (10% for the first 2; 15% for the remaining 2, for a total of 25%), Attendance/Participation (25%), First paper (25%), Second Paper (25%).  Failure to write either of the two papers, or 4 unexcused absences from class, constitute sufficient grounds for earning an "F" in the class.

You are advised to retain copies of any written work you submit for this class, and all your research notes, until you have received an official grade.

September 14

November 2

 Copyright © 2003-2005 Dana Hollander